SYRACUSE -- A federal grand jury has charged 29 people with smuggling thousands of pounds of marijuana into the United States from Canada and distributing it throughout the region from the Onondaga Indian Nation, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

It was the second time in less than a month federal authorities made a big drug sweep through an upstate New York Indian reservation. Last month, 34 people were charged with a drug-trafficking ring operating from the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation on the U.S.-Canadian border.

"High potency marijuana produced in Canada and then smuggled into the United States has increased largely because it is so profitable," said acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter.

During their investigation, federal agents seized 100 pounds of marijuana, $350,000 in cash and 10 vehicles, Baxter said.

According to the indictment, the defendants smuggled thousands of pounds of marijuana into the United States from Canada through the St. Regis reservation. The marijuana was then taken to the Onondaga reservation and distributed to other points, including Buffalo, Long Island and Philadelphia. Some of the marijuana also ended up on the Salamanca Indian Reservation near Buffalo.

Baxter said 18 of the 29 defendants had been arrested or surrendered by early Wednesday. Each of the defendants faces at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, if convicted. The charges include conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.